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Directed by Andrew Wolden & Keith Wells Musical Direction by Delph Richards Choreography by Jill Benson
Kiss Me, Kate was a comeback and a personal triumph for Cole Porter. After several successful musicals in the 1930s, notably Anything Goes, Du Barry Was a Lady, and Panama Hattie, he experienced a terrible accident in 1937 which left him in continuous pain. Following the accident he continued to write songs and musicals but with limited success, and some thought he was past his prime. Kiss Me, Kate was a response to Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!, and other integrated musicals, and was in fact his biggest hit, receiving five Tony awards in 1949
Kiss Me Kate tells the tale of two once-married, now-divorced musical theater actors, Fred Graham and Lilli Vanessi, who are performing opposite each other in a Broadway-bound musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, in the roles of Petruchio and Katharina. Already on poor terms, the pair begin an all-out emotional war midperformance when Lilli discovers Fred sent his latest fling, Lois Lane, Lilli's wedding bouquet. (Lois plays the role of Bianca in "The Taming of the Shrew".) The only thing keeping the show together are threats from a pair of gangsters: Lois's steady boyfriend (and the show's Lucentio), Bill Calhoun, loves to gamble, and to avoid the responsibility of paying his debts, has signed Fred's name to an I.O.U. Gangsters have come to collect on it, and this show will provide the money that Fred needs to avoid getting his fingers broken. Fred, in turn, uses the gangsters to prevent the furious Lilli from walking out on the show after she discovers that the wedding bouquet was really meant for Lois and throws a tantrum, prompting Fred to literally spank her onstage. In classic musical comedy fashion, madness ensues, and both pairs of lovers are ultimately reconciled. Fred and Lilli presumably re-marry Click here to view 'Kiss Me Kate' production photographs
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